The First Strike
As he walked through The Halls of Kekkei Genkai, Seiame suddenly heard shouts of fighting outside, and rushed to see what was happening. Reaching the area, he stared in shock. Several of the village's most famed ninja were sprawled out, obviously alive but unable to fight. The intruder had a gash on his right shoulder, not shallow, but not too deep either, but that was the only mark on him. Facing the man, arrayed strategically, were the Masters of the Halls. While there should have been three of them, a Master was never replaced until all three had perished, so only Hejin and Suchiruu were there. Hejin seemed tired, as if he had already exerted himself. His mace, made using his kekkei genkai, was not shifting as usual, but simply being there, so Seiame assumed he had very little chakra left. Suchiruu, on the other hand seemed tense but not harmed, as if he had just arrived. Even as Seiame watched, Suchiruu ran at the enemy, using his incredible speed, and began raising the ground beneath him with chakra. it was a jutsu he had performed many times. As he reached the man, who had leaped into the air in anticipation of the attack, he leaped off the last block of earth, dragging the whole line of stone with him, mixed with his own steel-like chakra, which was also concentrated in his hand. Bringing the entire weight of the attack down on his opponent, he roared "Blade Dragon!". However, instead of being struck by the attack, the man simply threw out an arm at the crushing strike, and the attack... shattered. all the stone, the chakra, and Suchiruu, went flying away. As the Master of the Halls picked himself up looking dumbstruck, the intruder waved him away. "Begone! I have business with your Gokage Sennin, and here he is." Seiame walked forward. "Who are you? Why have you done this? You cannot hope to defeat me! I am the Gokage Sage!" "That is exactly why I have come to defeat you. Or rather part of it. None of these weak humans could present trouble for me. You, however, are something different. If I was caught unawares, you could destroy me. So, I shall not give you that chance." "Your arrogance astounds me. You act as if you are something more than human. If we were weak, how would we have built this?" He gestured to the great building behind him. The intruder laughed madly. "I act as if I am something more than human for the same reason you were able to build this palace. I- and you as well- ARE something more than human! Fool!" Seiame lost his temper. This madman clearly thought to make a fool of him. He rushed forwards, and leaped at the man, who jumped backwards. Growling, he gripped a ruby in his hand, using it to fuel a brilliant fire which consumed his arm, running again at the enemy. This time the man met his attack head on. "Ruby Blaze!" He slammed the fire, far hotter than any others at 600 degrees, into the intruder's chest. Incredibly, the flames licked around him, as if he was immune, and then the force of his own blow threw Seiame back. "W-what!?" The intruder laughed again. "You don't believe me, but that's the proof!" Seiame prepared himself again. This man was human, he knew it. It was some powerful jutsu, blocking his attacks. Well, he would bring down whatever technique was being used against him. He began to draw energy from the ruby once more, using his kekkei genkai. But this time, before he could even sart to move, the fire seemed to crack apart, like an iceberg breaking up. Black rifts appeared, and the fire dispersed. Then the rifts vanished. The man laughed again. "This is the power that will dfeat the almighty Gokage Sage! This is the power of mine! Me, Kamijuu! I shall destroy you!" Suddenly, right in front of Seiame, more of the black cracks in reality appeared, slashing into him, throwing him with incredible force. He ground his teeth to keep from howling. They hurt worse than almost anything he had ever felt! Now he understood when Hejin had looked so drawn. Gasping, he stood, facing Kamijuu, who had come to right in front of him. This close, he could see whatever jutsu was protecting him. It was a shimmering, phasing rainbow cloak about his entire body. Kamijuu saw him looking. "More proof, right in your face, and yet you still do not believe me." He shook his head ruefully. "You and I, we are Inspired! The Gods have blessed us with power! Why do you think the building was completed so quickly? Your power!" Ignoring him, Seiame made a single hand sign. Whatever that shield was, it could not possibly stop this attack. Leaping forward into Kamijuu's surprised face, he whispered, "Alchemic Grasp.", and drew from the air on the left side of him the sword Kusanagi. This would cut through anything. Anything! Before his opponent could react, he thrust the blade at his stomach. Desperation shone in Kamijuu's eyes, and for a moment, Seiame thought he had won. But then, the air around the man exploded. It completely shattered. A gaping void was left, which the sword plunged into. The air reformed, leaving him out of range of Kamijuu. For the first time Kamijuu looked truly alert, ready for a challenge. Seiame grinned, despite his failure. "So, that jutsu you keep saying is proof of your not being human, it isn't all-powerful?" Kamijuu grimaced. "It is no jutsu! It is the ability of all Inspired! Once it has developed completely, it is all-powerful. At this point, I believe it is simply because I have the upper hand against you, but I would not test it against so deadly a weapon. Once I defeat you, however, there can be no doubt!" With that, rifts appeared all about his surroundings, air particles exploding and creating more rifts. "Now, I shall claim victory and become, truly, Kamijuu!" He grasped at the air, and it became even more volatile as he hurtled forwards. Before Seiame could strike with Kusanagi, the exploding air was plunged into his chest. "Implosion!" roared Kamijuu. Seiame simply roared. It felt as if all the atoms in his body were destroying each other, and him. It ended, and he collapsed, barely able to dismiss the Kusanagi sword before Kamijuu could snatch it. He looked up into the face of the victor. Kamijuu had drawn a kunai knife, and was preparing to finish it. However, he hesitated. "Actually, now I think I shall keep you alive, in order to have some fun." Seiame's anger grew, and he tried to strike him, but he just danced back. Then, Kamijuu began making handsigns. "Soul Darkening!" A cloud of darkness surrounded the Gokage Sennin, and fire spun about. When it settled, A demonic shadow with fiery eyes appeared, and bowed before Kamijuu, who laughed once again. "Let us see how the world faces you and me! Of course, this is not as powerful as you in ninjutsu, but it could defeat the majority of ninja, and the kages will soon have their hands full!" "This... Is... Impossible......" ground out Seiame. "Noone ca-can p-play with... the nin...ninja world like this. No human can de... can defeat me in this way!" Then he finally believed. This man, this Kamijuu, had powers noone else had. They were clearly not just jutsu. He used them without flaws in training, as if he had been born to them. He glared at the Inspired. " Now, I believe you." "Ha! I have convinced you! Now, live with that until you outlive-" He gestured towards the shadow "that! Then I shall kill you!" The pain had finally subsided completely. Seiame stood up. "No! Now you will live, if scum like you are truly alive, until I outlive you! That will be shortly. If you have these powers as an Inspired, then I do too!" And he flew at Kamijuu, forgetting the shield around his foe, draining the ruby completely. "Ruby Blaze!" Kamijuu simply laughed and stood there. But, this time, the glow around him was not so distinct, like a ghost of a glow, and around Seiame, wavelengths of it traveled. At the last instant, Kamijuu noticed this change. His eyes grew wide. "What is th-Yaaah!" The jutsu, aided by the glowing aura, broke through his now flimsy shield, striking him full-on. He flew backwards several feet before catching himself. "So, You have gained something by accepting yourself as an Inspired. And I have lost something. Well, still you shall die! Void Rush!" He grasped a rift in his hand, which had been floating around since he had first struck Seiame with it, and ran headlong at Seiame, who drew a kunai in preparation of battle. However, when his kunai met the rift, it went through, and did not touch Kamijuu. Then the rift struck him. It was incredibly heavy, and even drawing strength from the granite on which he stood, Seiame could barely shift it off him before it crushed his bone. He then struck Kamijuu, hard. The man's arm went limp, and his eyes dilated in pain. He spoke. "Well, if I kill you your Shadow dies, and I wouldn't want that. So, rather than take a beating for nothing, I am going to go now. I shall return." And with that, he leapt into the night, with Seiame's Shadow so close, it looked like a cloak.